The Hindu Business Line : Jet to launch Chennai-Toronto flight via Brussels on Nov 5

On cards
Jet has made Brussels the hub of its European and trans-Atlantic operations.
It plans launching services from Mumbai to San Francisco via Shanghai and to Hong Kong this financial year.
On the India-US routes, the airline will use the Boeing-777-300 ER aircraft in three-class configuration.

Our Bureau

Chennai, Aug. 21 Jet Airways intends to launch its Chennai-Brussels-Toronto flight on November 5, provided all approvals are received by then, senior officials of the airline told a press conference here on Tuesday.

A passenger who needs to go to the US could change flights at Brussels and catch another Jet Airways flight to either Newark or John F Kennedy airport, officials said.

Flights out of Chennai leave at around 2 a.m. and reach the Belgian capital at 7 a.m. local time. The trans-Atlantic flight will leave two hours later and reach the US or Canada around noon.

Earlier this month, Jet Airways began its India-US operations with flights from Mumbai to Newark via Brussels — only the second Indian airline (after Air India) to run a flight between the two countries. Jet has announced an invitation price of Rs 36,000 (plus Rs 11,000 in taxes) for the economy class.

Brussels advantage

Jet has made Brussels the hub of its European and trans-Atlantic operations. Officials said that the airline has obtained route-rights — it may now sell tickets in Europe and pick up passengers on the trans-Atlantic leg at Brussels. In contrast, for Air India to pick up passengers in Europe, (at Frankfurt) the ticket would have to be issued in India.

Jet was able to get this ‘level 5 freedom’ because the Belgian government itself was keen on having an airline operate trans-Atlantic from Brussels. Currently, after the collapse of Sabina airlines there is no one. This is significant as Jet may target passengers from Scandinavia and North African countries.

Mumbai-San Francisco

Mr Gaurang Shetty, Vice-President, Marketing, Jet Airways, said at the press conference that the airline would launch services from Mumbai to San Fransisco via Shanghai and to Hong Kong this financial year.

On the India-US routes, the airline will use the Boeing-777-300 ER aircraft in three-class configuration. There are some uniqueness in both first and business classes. The first class, for instance, is a closed room with two seats that join into one flat bed (fare: Rs 5.32 lakh).

The business class seats are at an angle to the side of the aircraft so that all passengers have only aisle seats. Facilities to make telephone calls from the air are common in modern aircraft, but sending emails and SMS are not allowed. But on these Jet flights you may do that — Rs 100 per mail or SMS.

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